Archives for October 2011

“When what is intuited does not come to pass there are many reasons why, competition, for one ~ for the same ‘potential’ highway. Think of potentials and possibilities as intersecting lines, a grid or web of interconnecting highways, though in this case energetic. The occasional traffic light may slow things down or put someone else’s vehicle in front of yours. Yes, what ‘our’ intuition (and I speak of those of you who are in the body) divines might only be correct half of the time. The other half is subject to corrugation, an excess of variables. However, the more you hone your intuition, the more accurate you become. It is like a muscle always waiting to be flexed. This is not exact science but I hope you have understood the complexity involved. Human intuition has its limits yet it’s something we must continue to explore and, as necessary as breathing.” ~ Rudolph Valentino

“Yes, to a certain extent. Two competing issues, sometimes more, have to get resolved, be tempered in some respect, like metal in a forge. The combinations, analogous to the material used in swords, eventually make us stronger. Or you could see it as apothecaries do, creating an emulsion. When blending opposites, usually something good comes out of the mix. Karma is the ultimate blending, how the ALL makes itself more whole. Two warring parties coming to terms herald an incredible breakthrough: a newly-born stasis pregnant with possibilities.” ~ Rudolph Valentino

Metro Pictures, 1921 ~ directed by Rex Ingram. Valentino comments on his role, certain aspects of the story line, and a couple of the personalities that were involved in the project some 90 years after the fact.

“Well, there certainly was a lot of excess around that shoot, from the feverish visions of Rex Ingram, which translated in numerous ways, to the actual props that stood in for Père Grandet’s gold. A somewhat flat effort though the premise was extremely worthwhile. Alice (Alice Terry, Ingram’s wife) and I did know how to dovetail, meaning we were very complimentary on an energetic level. And, she was very adept at displaying an angelic countenance. Me = the ‘roué,’ personifying the height of excess from the other side of the coin. As opposed to my uncle in the film, I was both spendthrift and libertine.

I did find the big party scene amusing, especially certain images, and there were all sorts of little details I added, sometimes much to Rex’s consternation or chagrin. A potboiler in some sense yet the basic story, the redeeming quality of love, overshadowed the proceedings. Metro brass kept their hands off this one so the final product was mostly Rex’s, petulant as he sometimes could be. The script was a little creaky as novels often create that effect when turned into screenplays. Virile I was in that part though dandified too. My comeuppance forced me to re-assess, and the purity of love I realized with Alice’s character smote me, in the best way possible. I was transfigured, and transformed, by the love of a good woman. Gold, on the other hand, was an instrument of death, as it actually often is, in one manner or another.” ~ Rudolph Valentino

This film is also referred to in the essay on “Eyes” in “Valentino Speaks.”

“In one of my films, I wore a monocle. Very fitting because in that role my character’s sight was limited due to the circumstances of his birth. However, with the help of love, the conquering power, he eventually learned to use both of his eyes to see what was before him.” ~ Rudolph Valentino